Noodle Sensory

This sensory activity is another inexpensive, messy (probably not very sanitary but..), fantastic experience. How often does someone get to take a bath in noodles? Not many, but I bet there have been plenty who have wanted to! This was Hayden's first sensory activity and I think the pictures of his face say it all. He had so much fun squishing, eating, and wiggling around in the cooked pasta and his big brother Andy had fun helping his little brother enjoy the experience.

True, this activity is a mess and I wouldn't recommend letting it go on for too long for sanitary reasons if you're going to let your kid actually submerge their whole body in the noodles. And cooking up that much pasta (I cooked up an entire large bag of spaghetti noodles) takes awhile. But I thought it was absolutely worth it! All you have to do is cook up the pasta, cool it down, and put it in a large container for your kiddo to enjoy. I also added a little warm water to keep the noodles from sticking to each other. 

As you can see by the picture, I have kept our baby tub and use it as a sensory tub in many of our activities. But if you don't feel like letting your child actually sit in the pasta but simply use their hands (or toes), you can use a large Tupperware, bowl, or bucket.

For a couple bucks worth of pasta, a little time for set up and clean up, your kids will have a blast getting hands on and messy!

Whisper Phone

Do you have a screamer on your hands? I don't know about your kids but my little guy gets a kick out of testing his lungs. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get him to stop screaming. But then, at the hardware store I found some pvc pipes and I was struck with an idea: the whisper phone! Using less than $3 worth of pvc pipe, I made what I call the whisper phone. It allows your little one to hear their own voice. And in the case of my son, it helped him realize just how strong his screaming is on the ears. One good scream into his own ear and he was done! Now the whisper phone not only helps him keep his voice quiet, but it also helps him listen to his own voice when practicing new words! I highly recommend it!

Dried Bean Sensory

Have any dried beans just hanging out in your pantry? Or maybe you're like me and have a few bags of expired beans :") Then toss them in a tub or large tupperware and watch how much fun your kiddo has with them! It's great sensory play and hardly costs you a thing! In my case, it helped clean out my pantry.

Jello Sensory

If you're really adventurous and have a little one that likes to get messy, try a bathtub full of jello! It makes for a great sensory project. Add a few toys to make a treasure hunt out of it. Add a little water to discover a new texture and sensation. When you're done, add hot water and the jello will dissolve and go right down the drain for an easy clean up! My son and his friend had a lot of fun with this one.

Bath Time Rave Party

For your little one's next bath, toss in a couple glow sticks and see what fun ensues!

Egg Demolition

If you have a child who likes to destroy and demolish things, this activity is a fun way to satisfy the need. Start collecting egg shells, carefully wash them off, and when dry allow your little one to have fun crunching, smashing, stomping, and crumbling the egg shells. This is a great sensory work that allows your little one an appropriate chance to break things!

Shaving cream puff painting

Mix shaving cream and Elmer's glue (a 50/50 mix) and let your kid have fun painting with it. When it's dry it is nice a puffy. Makes great clouds!

Marble painting

Marble painting--
This was so much fun! Place a piece of paper at the bottom of a Tupperware. Then take a marble, dip it in paint, and toss it into the Tupperware. Let your little one shake the dickens out of it and see what fun pictures you can create!

Milk Painting

Looking for something fun to do with your little one? Try milk painting! Just add food coloring to milk and let your kiddo paint some bread, popcorn, or marshmallows! If you're having them paint bread, you can toast it up afterwards for a fun and colorful snack! 

Also, if you have leftover colored milk, it makes a killer milk mustache!

Pretend cooking sensory

Give your little one several bowls full of random cooking supplies (ie: flour, sugar, water, etc...) and let them have fun playing Master Chef! This is great sensory and practical life learning. Kids love to mimic mommy and daddy!

Faucet Extension

Just as a fun tip, you can use an old Baby shampoo bottle to cut out a great water spout. It has really helped my son reach the water better without me having to hold him up. Just cut off the top and one side of the shampoo bottle, slip it over your faucet and tada!

Color Fizzies

Add food coloring to some vinegar and let your little one drip some colored vinegar into a pan of baking soda. You get lots of fun colorful fizzies! My son not only loved seeing all the "bubbles!!!" but he also got a kick out of the sound it made. If I had more supplies, we could've done this for an hour!

Rainbow rice

Rainbow rice--

This colorful rice can be used for toy treasure hunts, practice writing letters in, or just for basic sensory fun. I am always surprised with how long my son can be captivated by rainbow rice. It also keeps for a long time so you can use it again and again!

Rainbow Rice:

Mix 3 tablespoons white vinegar with food coloring. Pour the vinegar mix into 1 cup of uncooked white rice. Once the color is thoroughly mixed in, lay the rice out on tinfoil or parchment paper and allow to dry completely (I just did it before bed and it was dry by morning).

Repeat the process for as many colors as you'd like!

Store in a dry place.

Shadow puppets

It may be a given but it's easy to over look the classics sometimes...

Shadow puppets! Always a fun one. With more sunny days on the way, it's great to take time and play with shadows. 

Dress-up

A lot of people see playing dress-up as strictly a girl thing, but it's totally not! You don't need to buy costumes or even props. You've got a whole house full of them already! Rummage through your old clothes, bags, jewelry and more. Even my son got a kick out of trying on mommy's heels and carrying around my purse!  Your kids see you wear this stuff all the time. It can be fun to dress up like mommy or daddy!

Fort Building

Another classic that can be easily over looked...

Build a fort! I admit, I have never been really good at building forts. But the excitement my son had when we got to eat lunch inside a big blanket fort was worth the effort. I guess I always saw fort building as something to do with older kids, but I was pleased to see how much my little toddler got a kick out of it.

Cleaning Practice

This activity cost me less than $5 and it is something my son uses every day.

Go to your local dollar store and pick up some cleaning supplies. I bought the following: a small dust pan with little hand broom, a squirt bottle, a squeegee, and a sponge. I also got a container with a handle so my son could carry his cleaning supplies to where ever he wanted to take it.

Every day I put a little water in the bottle (don't do too much or they will soak the place!) and let him squirt the windows. He then uses the squeegee and sponge to wipe off the window. He also uses it to help wash down the tables in the house. And the dust pan and broom can be used in the kitchen to help me sweep or help clean up the crumbs from his snack.

It's hard to think kids would get such a kick out of cleaning but they really do! Sometimes kids just love getting the chance to help mom and dad. It's a great practical life activity!

Garden Helper

Helping in the garden.

On the few hot days we've had this year, my son didn't show much interest in his water toys. (You buy them something awesome and they just want the box, right?) But what he did enjoy was helping to water the lawn and garden. It seems silly to make a post about letting your kid play with the hose, but sometimes it's easy to forget what our kids are capable of, even at a young age. But like most kids, some of the best fun they have is when they get to do what the "big kids" do. Letting your kids help can be some of the best activities.

My yard was also over-run with dandelions so I told my son he could pick as many "pretty yellow flowers" he could find. He loved picking the flowers and I loved that he was dead-heading all the weeds!

Jumping mat

This pic is a bit blurry but only because my son was having too much fun jumping...

If you have a kid (like mine) who is constantly wanting to jump, especially on the furniture (so many mini heart-attacks!), here is an easy way to redirect them without taking away their need to jump. Find a safe place on the floor to set up a mat (I used my yoga mat) or a folded blanket, and designated it as the "jumping mat." Any time your kiddo starts to get that jumping urge, direct them to the jumping mat. It's a space just for them to jump and gives them a saver option to do so.

I know there is also the little trampolines you can buy for kids, but they can be spendy. Plus, using a blanket or mat will minimize the chance of them falling like they could off a trampoline. Plus a blanket/mat is much easier to tuck away at the end of the day. 

Pretend Noodle Play

Make some "noodles" using old yarn. And if you got it, toss in some balls (I actually used some wooden balls from a potpourri set I had) as "meatballs". Give your child a bowl and some tongs and let them practice transferring the "noodles" from the plate to the bowl. This is great for basic food play, for working on hand-eye coordination, and the beginning of fine tuning the pincer grasp.

Painting with trucks

Painting with trucks--


This was a really fun one! My son had some plastic trucks with bumpy tread on the tires. With a old cake pan of paint to dip them in and a runway of paper to drive them across, he had a blast leaving trails of colorful tread marks with his cars. This could work with cars or any other plastic toys (balls, toys with feet or paws to leave tracks, etc.). He stayed interested in this much longer than when we just used paintbrushes.

spreading and a snack all in one

A practice in spreading and a snack all in one! Give your child a small jar or bowl of some kind of spread (ie: jelly, hummus, peanut butter...), a couple crackers, and a small children's knife. Help them to practice spreading the jelly (or whatever spread you choose) onto the cracker and presto! Snack is ready! After helping them at first, step back and let them give it a go on their own. They will love the independence and sense of accomplishment. And the edible reward in the end is a plus too!

*I recommend only giving them as much jelly (or other spread) as you want them to eat. Otherwise they might use way more than you intended and it could turn into a "look how much jelly I can eat!" work, rather than a practice in spreading. 

Gak

Gak--

I absolutely LOVE gak! It is way easier to clean up than playdough, and it can bring hours of fun! Even after my son went to bed, my husband and I stayed up playing with it! lol. Also, if you put it in a cup and squish it down, it makes a great farting sound! So if you're like my family and die laughing at any kind of potty humor, you should give it a try!

Recipe for Gak:

2 cups Glue (Elmer's is best)
1 ½ cups warm water
1 cup hot water
1 ½ Tbls Borax (a type of laundry soap)

Mix the glue with warm water in a bowl.
In a separate bowl mix hot water with Borax.
Then add the two mixtures together, mixing well until all liquid has been absorbed.

Now the gak is ready for play! Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Can last up to two weeks.

*Optional: For colored gak (otherwise it's white) stir in some food coloring into the water glue mix before combining with the Borax water mix.

Mashed Potato Painting

Mashed Potato Painting:

I have seen several different edible paint ideas (colored yogurt, colored pudding...) but this was one that didn't involve any sugar. Since my little guy is hyper enough on his own, I appreciated the fact that this activity didn't have any sugar but was also safe for him to chow down on.

All you need for this activity is instant mashed potatoes and food coloring. Mix several small bowls of mashed potatoes with whatever color you'd like and let the painting/snacking begin! My son had a blast with this. The whole time he would paint a little, eat a little, while continuing to exclaim: "mmm....tatoes!"

8 ways to use pool noodles

8 ways to use pool noodles:

Pool noodles are a great inexpensive toy to buy ($2 at Target, or $1 at the dollar store!). But there are so many things you can do with pool noodles that don't even involve the pool! Here are a few ideas:

1. Marble race tracks--cut a pool noodle in half length wise. Prop the noodles up on one end (cut side up) so that it creates a ramp. And that's it! Set a marble in the groove of the cut noodle and let it roll!


2. Stacking--if your kiddo likes to stack things, you can cut up a water noodle in 2+ inch rounds. You and your little one can have fun seeing how high you can stack the pieces.

3. Food play--can cut up a water noodle in 2+ inch rounds. Place the rounds in a bowl, give your child a big spoon and let their imagination run. Giant noodles to mix and serve!

4. Stamping--cut a 2+inch round off the end of a pool noodle and use it like a big stamp. Dip the round into some paint and let your kiddo stamp away!

5. Sword fights--because who doesn't pick up a pool noodle and instantly swing around like a sword?!

6. Sewing--Cut up a water noodle in 2+ inch rounds. Take a long strip of yarn and tie one end to the end of a knitting needle (or stick. Whatever you have available), and the other end of the yarn to a pool noodle. Use the cut up noodle rounds like giant beads and let your little one practice threading the "beads" onto the thread. This is great early practice for those who might still be a little too young for small beads.

7. Music play--Cut a pool noodle in half to make two long pieces. Use these like drum sticks and have fun drumming and singing. Or, since the noodles have a hollow center, use it like a trumpet."

8. Cut up a water noodle in 2+ inch rounds. Toss the noodle rounds into your kids bath and let them take a "noodle soup" bath.

Smashing baked cotton balls

Smashing baked cotton balls:
This was a really fun project! You'll need cotton balls, flour, water, and food coloring. Mix equal parts water and flour. Add food coloring to the flour mix. Dip cotton balls into the flour mix and place onto a parchment covered baking sheet. (It's fun to let your kiddo help with dipping the cotton balls in the flour mix if you're up for some messy fun.) Bake at 300 for 45mins. When done baking, allow the cotton balls to cool completely.

Give your child a bowl of the baked cotton balls and a small hammer (we used his wooden play hammer) and let the destruction begin! My son also had a blast pulling apart the already smashed cotton balls to discover their soft fluffy innards.

Rainbow Bubbles

For anyone who wants a fun playtime/sensory idea: rainbow bubbles! 

Mix 2 TBL of liquid dish soap (I used Joy) with 1/4 cup water and a few drops of food coloring in a mixer. Mix on the highest setting for about 2 minutes, until foam can hold its shape. It's also fun to hide some toys in the bubbles so it becomes a bubble treasure hunt!

Cotton Ball Racing

Cotton ball racing:
All you need are some cotton balls, some straws, and let the games begin! Have your little one practice blowing the cotton ball across the floor. If your kiddo is a little older and into competitive games, you can turn this into a race across the kitchen floor with multiple people! 

Tissue Box

If your little one is like mine, then every time they get their hands on the tissue box, you find an explosion of tissue bits all over the room. Well this activity not only helped keep my son busy for quite awhile, but it helped to spare my tissues as well!

All you need is an empty diaper wipe box and some scraps of material. Fill the box with the material scraps and let your kiddo have fun pulling the material out of the box and stuffing it back in. I was surprised how long this captured my son's attention but hey, whatever floats his boat!

Artsy Fartsy

Ever since I worked at a Montessori school, I have been a big fan of two things: 1-letting your kid try and do as much as possible for themselves (you would be shocked at how capable those little ones are and how empowering it is for them to be allowed to do things for themselves), and 2-sensory activities! I am a huge fan of letting kids explore their environment, art, crafts, and activities with all the senses. My eldest especially seems to need a sensory overload in order to be satisfied. Where some kids might squish a little shaving cream in their hands for sensory fun, my son would strip himself down to his birthday suite and start rolling in the shaving cream like a little puppy. So consequently, I have accumulated quite the stockpile of art and activities that can satisfy even the most energetic and sensory needy of kids.

In the following posts, I will be sharing several of the activities we've done in the past to help inspire others to share in the fun we have had. It has been my distinct pleasure to have be able to learn from some of the best Montessori teachers who are masters at sensory activities that can stimulate the mind and meet the individual needs of children, to be given fabulous ideas by my close and personal friend Stacy who is a preschool teacher and loving mother of two beautiful little girls, and of course my favorite of all websites: Pintrest. With these fantastic resources, I have been so lucky to have an endless bag of tricks up my sleeves to keep my wee ones entertained and happy.

So here we go! My stash of art, crafts, and activities....

Introductions

Hi. My name is Jen and I am a stay-at-home mother of two beautiful boys, Andy and Hayden. Andy is three years old and Hayden is going on ten months. They are the light of my life and I love them with all my heart. Now, that being said; having two boys is the most exhausting, challenging, stressful, unique experience I have ever had in my entire life! I am constantly tired, everything is sticky, and every day I get the distinct pleasure of conversing about poop, farts, and genitalia. Not to mention the fact that I have not had a single quiet day since my eldest son was born.

Having children is no walk in the park. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I had no idea what was really coming. These adorable little bundles of joy are masters at pushing me to my absolute breaking point and then reeling me back in for more. I have had to change and adjust my lifestyle in ways I never anticipated and, more often than not, I have to put my own needs and wants dead last. I can't tell you how many times I have missed a meal or even skipped a shower or two for myself because my sons needed comfort or help. I have given up late nights with friends in exchange for bedtime routines and passing out early. Privacy and modesty no longer exist.--I will admit, I have even breastfed my baby while I went to the bathroom because...well, let's face it: when you are sleep deprived and your bladder is about to burst, you'll do anything to keep your kid from waking up and screaming at you. So yes, I have had to say goodbye to my dignity as well.--And I have had to handle and clean up more bodily fluids than I would ever care to discuss.

Having boys in particular also comes with it's own unique perks and challenges. Even from a young age, boys are constantly touching, playing, and displaying their penises. They show affection in a very rough and aggressive ways (I love you so I'm going to tackle you to the ground!). Language skills develops a little slower than girls. And even still, words can be hard to find when they need to communicate, especially when they are feeling big emotions. They can make sound effects for just about everything and often will communicate via sound effects. If you let them pee outside even once they will want to do it forever, every time, no matter where you are (at a camp ground or at a company picnic). They often function well with a pack mentality.--In my years of working childcare and even at high school level, I have witnessed that girls usually have a best friend or two and will often single out others. Whereas boys travel in packs, they play well in big groups, they tend to function best in team settings. But this also feeds into the need to dominate others to establish leadership, ownership, and respect.--Boys are perpetually dirty. I don't know how but it's like they produce their own dirt. And, most importantly, no matter what society dictates for little boys, they always need and want love and affection. Even if it's for all of two seconds, those brief cuddles and hugs go a long way for our little guys who will be growing up in a world that demands they keep a stiff upper lip and to hid away their softer emotions. Although our hugs might be coupled with monster growls, or our kisses might be followed with a lick to the face, I will always welcome and encourage those tender moments with my boys.

So what is this blog all about?

I hope to capture and share some of my thoughts, experiences, tips, tricks, and activities that I have with my boys. It is my hope that it will help others, as well as myself, to learn and grow right along with our little ones as we try to tackle the madness that it parenthood.